Antisepticized brush



, 40 form of a body or layer through or within which icidal material is incorporated in the head of the Patented l, 194()A i p t Y (UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,216,333. i AN'rIsEP'ncizEn BRUSH Harry Calvin White, Los Angeles, and Max Powell, San Gabriel, Calif.; said Powell assignor to said White Application June 13, 1936, serial No. sacca 13 olonne. (ci. :i5- 167) This invention relates to improvements in material whose life may-be controlled or preantiseptlcized brushes, and has for its general determined by adjustment of its composition,` purpose to render brushes self-sterilizlng by inas will later appear. corporating in them a bactericidal material that Our Dreferned type of bactericidal material iS will retain its eil'ectiveness as such throughout a substance or composition that has only limited 5 the life of the brush, or at least over a prolonged solubility in water and which, even with daily or' period of time. While the invention is toy be frequent wettings of the brush, will dissolve at regarded vas applicable generally to brushes of such a slow rate that an eiective amount of the various types end forms, it is particularly advansubstance will remain throughout the life of the tageous as applied to tooth brushes, and will brush. The invention also contemplates the use io therefore be described with reference to certain of other types of bactericides which may or may -typical embodiments in that form of brush. vnot be soluble and Whose activity as bactericides Various means have been proposed for ani-,iresults from the emanation of rays which destroy septlcizing brushes by the use of antiseptic matethe micro-Organisms- Snh baoterioides may be 15 rials carried by the brush itself, but these proclassed generally as photo-active or radio-active posals appear to have met with little success for Substances, as for exemple certain salts that such reasons as the inability oi the antiseptic normally or when activated, emanate bactericimaterial to retain its effectiveness over any as' dal raYS- certainesv period of. time, and practical limita- `-All the various features and objects of the intions, as from a manufacturing standpoint, vention, as well as the details of certain typical n upon the form of the antiseptic materia] and and illustrative forms thereof, will be more fully manner of incorporating it in the brush. We understood from the following detailed descriphaVe overcor'ne1 such limitations and disadvantion. Reference is had throughout the descriptages by providing an antisepticized brush emtion to the accompanying drawing, in which:

bodying a bactericidal material in a simple form Figo 1 S a longitudinalv Section Showing the that adapts the brush to economic and practical 1. head portion of a tooth brush embodying a typimanufactur, and also by the use ot certain cal form ,of the invention;

types of bactericidal materials possessing char- Fis. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, Showing a y aoteristics that assure their continued eirectivevariant form 0f the invention:

ness over long periods of time. Fig- 3 iS a View looking upward from line 3-3 30 In accordance with the invention, we incorof Fflg- 1; porate in the brush a `imtnrgi11 materia] pre- Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, and illustra senting at the base of the bristles a surfacem ing a further variation; and direct and open exposure to the bristles. so that Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Flai.

that surface, which ordinarily is subject to bac,- Irl the drawing, the brush is Shown to comterial contamination, as well as the bristles DriSe a body l0 including the head and handle themselves, are kept properly antiseptleized, In portions loa and lb, and bristles assembled in Y .our preferred form of the invention, the bacterispaced tufts Il arranged in rows extending loncidal materiel is incorporated in the brush inthe eitudinally of the head- Preferably the billeter-4 the bristles extend, and having an exposed surbrush in the form 0f a layer 0f Solid material 8.oo face that preferably is at least as great as the Cured to 0r in effect integrated with the head area, of the brush surface at the base of the IDG at the base 0f the bristles. It is t0 be linderbristles. 'Ihls base layer is in effect integrated stood however that the bactericidal material with the body of the brush. and may be incormay be secured to the brush head or incorpo- 5 porotos in the brush by various methode ou of rated in the brush body in" any swtable manner.' which lend themselves to simple and economic In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the v manufacturing processes. We utilize as the anbase layer is Secured to the brush head by Castl tiseptic material, a bactericidal substance or ing or molding the substance, for example Cel- 5o composition possessing as a characteristic prop-` lolo-id 0r pyroxylin, of which the body lll is 50 erty, the ability to retain its. effectivenessv de e formed, about the layer I2 so that the latter spite daily or repeated wettings of the brush, for is keyed to the brush head between shoulders I3. a length of time corresponding to the normal life 'I'he bond between the layer and the body of the of a. tooth brush. 'In certain of its aspects. the 'brush may Abe strengthened and protected by as invention contemplates the use c! a bactericidal ilrst applying to the layer surface 12a a suitable water-proof cement, and molding the brush head against the cement coated layer. To illustrate one of several possible variant forms of the invention and means for securing the bactericidal substance to the brush head, I show the base layer I4 in Fig. 2 to be applied to the under surface of the brush head I5 without, in effect, recessing or undercutting the latter, there being applied to the inner surface I6 of the base layer a ycement or suitable bonding substancethat will securely attach the layer to the brush head. To improve the bond, the inner surfaces I2a and I6 of the bactericidal substances may be roughenedv or given any suitable irregular form.

Referring to Fig. 1, the bristles Il extend within the layer I2 and preferably, as the drawing shows, the area of the exposed surface I1 of the layer is made suiliciently large to include all the bristle tufts, so that each is surrounded at its base by the bactericidal substance. Thus as shown in.

Fig. 3'the base layer extends somewhat beyond the rows of bristle tufts, both along the sides and at the ends of the head. The, side edges I'Ia of the base layer may not necessarily extend beyond the outer rows of bristle tufts, but may, as shown in Fig. 4, extend only to the outside of the tufts, thereby enablingthe width of the brush head to be somewhat reduced.

As a typical means of securing the bristles to the body of the brush, the tufts II may be extended through the layer I2 into the head Illa, within which they are held in the usual manner by the head forming material being molded around the inner ends of the bristles. In forming the brush, the base layer I2 may be molded or otherwise formed around the bristle tufts II, leaving the inner ends of the tufts projecting beyond the layer, and the head Ia then cast or molded around the layer to embed the bristles and integrate the layer I2 with the body of the brush. If desired the bristletufts may be inserted through holes formed in the base layer, instead of casting the latter around the bristles.

As previously mentioned, we preferably form the base layer I2 of a suitale bactericidal material or composition that has limited solubility in water. By limitedsolubility we mean such slight solubility that, assuming the brush to be wetted once or twicey each day, the layer I2 will not have completely dissolved over a period of say at least two months, and preferably longer. We may control or predetermine the solubility of the bactericidal material by combining in predetermined proportions, two or more materials, at least one of Which is water soluble and at least one of which is a bactericide, in such proportions as will regulate and determine the rate of solubility of the layer I2 as a whole. Thus we may combine with a substance having desired bactericidal properties but too rapid or too slow solubility, another substance, bactericidal or not, which will have the effect of reducing or increasing, as the case may be, the solubility of the composite substances to the desired extent, but Without impairing its bactericidal qualities.

Typically, the material I 2 may comprise a mixture of sulphur and sodium carbonate fused together to form a solid and fairly hard body. The sulphur is a highly effective bactericide, but has such limited solubility in water that if used alone, it would not have the desired effectiveness. Sullphur, however, is soluble in alkaline solutions such as, for example, an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate or other alkaline metal salts. By combiningv (physically) the sulphur with a predetermined percentage of sodium carbonate, the latter dissolves to a' limited degree when the brush is wetted, forming a dilute alkaline solution which in turn causes a limited amount of the sulphur to go into solution. The use of sulphur together with sodium carbonate is particularly advantageous because of the tendency of the sodium carbonate to take up slight amounts of moisture when exposed to the air. The result is that there is always present a moist condition in the layer tending to activate the sulphur in the sence that it will inhibit or prevent bacterial growth on the surface of the layer. The sulphur and sodium carbonate may be mixed in any suitable proportions depending upon the rate of solubility desired in the composite material. A mixture containing about 7% sodium carbonate may be cited as typical. In forming the base layer I2, the mixture of materials is pulverized and then heated to a temperature of about 160 to4 165 C. at which the sulphur fuses and, upon cooling, bonds the sodium carbonate particles into a solid mass.

As another example of a bactericidal material having limited solubility, we may use water soluble para-toluol-sulphochloramin in compressed or other solid form in which the substance is suitable for formation in the solid base layer. For example, the para-toluol may be mixed'with a suitable binder, such as gums or resins, or very small amounts of a shellac, for the dual purpose of putting the material in the form of a solid body, and, in effect, of controlling the solubility rate of the para-toluol. That is to say, -by varying the proportion of the binder, the solubility rate of the para-toluol containing body may be controlled. In forming the base layer, the mixture may be subjected to a low temperature bake to lvolatilize the solvent. We may also use as the binder such substances as thymol, camphor or beta napthol, which are bactericidal in themselves, so that the composite body will consist entirely of substances that are bactericidal.

Instead of using substances that are dependent upon their solubility in water for their bactericidal effect, we may also use substances of a radio-active or photo-active nature, which may be incorporated in a base layer, as described, or in the body of the brush as a whole. For example, the layer I2 may be formed of or include such substances as radium activated uranium salts which will continue. to emanate bactericidal rays over an extended period of time. To make a photo-active bactericide, we utilize a suitable alkaline earth saltV or oxide, for example thorium oxide, together with such other substances as chlorophyll (1-2%) and quinine (under 1%), which mixture may be activated to emanate ultra violet rays over an extended period of time. A pulverized mixture of the oxide, chlorophyll and quinine, may first be subjected to ultra violet light over a period of time and the mixture then 'mixed with a suitable binder, such as a glyceride,

`and allowed to set and harden into a solid body. The latter may be made soluble or insoluble in Water. Preferably it is made slightly soluble, as by the addtion of salts containing a sulphur radical, e. g. sodium sulphite, sodium bisulphite, and ammonium sulpho compounds, so that a fresh surface of the activated material will always be exposed.

The bactericidal material, Whichever of the described types may be used, is rendered par-v ticularly effective by its being incorporated in the brush in a manner such that the material i presents a large area surface in direct and open exposure to the bristles, and within which preferably all or at least most of the bristles extend. In this way, the bactericide is placed so that it surrounds and applies directly to the bristles. Where a soluble bactericidal substance is used, the base layer presents an exposed surface from which the solution may readily be drawn into the tufts by capillarity between the bristles.

It will be understood that the drawing is to be regarded merely as illustrative of the invention in certain of its typical and preferred forms,

and that various changes and modifications may be made without departure from the invention in its intended spirit and scope.

We claim:

l. In a tooth brush comprising a head and bristles terminating in said head, a` solid body of bactericidal material at the base of said bristles and within which the bristles extend, said material having predetermined slight water solubility, the surface of said body of material being openly exposed to the bristles,` and a handle extending beyond one end of said material.

2. In a tooth brush comprising ahead andV bristles terminating in said head, a sono body of bactericidal material at the base of said bristles and within which the bristles are imbedded, said material having predetermined slight water `solubility, the surface of said body of material being openly exposed to the bristles, and a handle extending beyond one end of said material.

3. In a tooth brush comprising a head and bristles terminating in said head, a solid body of bactericidal material at the base of said brisi through which the brlstlesextend, said surface being openly exposed to the bristles and set within an elongated recess in said head, and a handle extending beyond one end of said material.

5. In a tooth brush, the combination comprising a head, a layer oisolid bactericidal material having its inner surface bonded to the head, bristles extending through said layer of material and secured within said head, said material having predetermined limited Water solubility, the outer surface of said material being openly exposed to the bristles and extending beyond the surface of the brush head toward the outer end of the bristles, and a handle extending beyond one end of said material.

6. In a toothbrush, the combination comprising a head, a layer of solid bactericidal material having its innerA surface bonded to the head and set within an elongated recess in said. head, bristles extending through said layer oi' material and terminating within said head, the outer surface of said material being openly exposed to the bristles and extending beyond the surface o! the brush head toward tbe outer ends of the bristles, and a handle extending beyond one end of said material.

7. In a tooth brush comprising a head and bristlesterminating in said head, a solid body o! bactericidal material at the base of said bristles and within which thel bristles extend, and a hmdle extending beyond one end voi. said material, the surface of said body of material being openly exposed to the bristles and extending beyond the surface of said head toward the outer ends of the bristles. said material being capable oi' retaining its bactericidal effectiveness with daily Wettings over an extended period of time.v

8. In a tooth brush comprising a head and bristles terminating in said head, a solid body .f of bactericidal-material at the base 'of said bristles and within which the bristles extend, and a handle extending beyond one end of said material, the surface of said body of material being openly exposed to the bristles, and said material having a predetermined slow solubility rate such that an effective amount of said material will remain on the head after daily Wetting over an extended period.

9. In a tooth brush comprising a head and bristles terminating in said head, a solid body of material at the base of said bristles and within which the bristles extend, the bull: oit said material consisting of a bactericide and the surface of said body of material being openly exposed to the bristles, said material being capable of retaining its bactericidal eiectiveness after daily wetting over a period of at least one month. Y

l0. In a tooth brush comprising a head and bristles terminating in said head, `a body of material at the base of said bristles and openly exposed thereto, the bulk of said material consisting of .a bactericide and said body being adapted to slowly dissolve in'water but having such slight solubility thatan eiective portion nl the material will remain after daily wetting over a -perlod of at least onemonth.

11. In a tooth brush comprising a head and bristles terminating in said head, a body oi' bactericidal material at the base of said bristles, said material having predetermined limited solubility in water and containing a combination of lill substances, at least one of which is a bactericide,

proportioned to predetermine the solubility rate of said body of material.-

12. In a tooth brush comprising ahead and bristles terminating in said head, a solid body of bactericidal material at the base of said bristles and within which the bristles extend, and a handle extending beyond one end of said material, the surface of said body of material being openly exposed to the bristlesand extending beyond the surface of said head toward the outer ends ofthe bristles, said material vemanating bactericidal rays and being capable of retaining its bactericidal effectiveness with daily wetting over an extended period of time.

13. In a tooth brush comprising a. head and bristles terminating in said head, a solid body of material at the base of said bristles and within which the bristles extend, the bulk of said material consisting of a bactericide and the surface of said body of material being openly exposed to the bristles, said material emanating bactericidal rays and being capable of retaining its bactericidal effectiveness after daily wetting over a period of at least one month.

HARRY CALVIN wm'rn. Max POWELL. 

